The Mind And Its Control Swami BudhanandaTHE MINDANDITS CONTROL
Swami Budhananda
ContentsPreface
SR No.Description Page
1. Mind Control : Difficult but possible 3
2. How to Strengthen the Will to Control the Mind4
3. What is at Stake in Controlling the Mind 5
4. How to Overcome the Pleasure-Motive 6
5. The Nature of the Mind : Hindu View 9
6. How Not to Make Mind control unnecessarily Difficult 13
7. A Clear Grasp of the Task on Hand Needed 14
8. A Favourable Inner Climate Needs to be Created14
9. Two Sets. of Inner Disciplines15
10. The Purer the Mind the Easier to Control15
11. Changing the Constitution of the Mind16
12. Holy Company Greatly Helps Mind-control20
13. How is Sattva Purified21
14. Basic Yoga Disciplines for Mind-control22
15. Practice of Discrimination Helps23
16. Training the Mind to Behave24
17. Practice of Pranayama24
18. Practice of Pratyahara25
19. Importance of harmonious Human Relations26
20. Healthy Occupation of the Mind Needed26
21. Importance of right use of meditation27
22. Importance of Meditation 27
23. Guard Against Despondency29
24. Emergency Control Devices29
25. Directed Thought 30
26. Control of Thought : the Secret32
27. Control of the Subconscious Mind 34
28. Beware of a Trick: of the Mind37
29. Believers are at an Advantage in Controlling the Mind 38
30. The Simplest and the Surest Method of Controlling the Mind 38
A Summary 40
Glossary41
PREFACE TO THE FIRST REPRINTThe first edition of The Mind and Its Control having gone out of print much earlier than expected within five months of its publication we are now reprinting it with a few improvements here and there in the text It is likely to be increasingly realized every- where in the world that mans well-being is inseparable from mind-control. Hence we hope that the circulation of this small book will steadily widen.
Advaita Ashrama The Publisher Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas February 16, 1972
1MIND-CONTROL: DIFFICULT BUT POSSIBLEIn this theme, the mind and its control, we are all deeply interested, in a very personal way, for nothing affects us individually more than our own minds. We know something about the subject. All of us try to control our minds. But we should like to know more and do better. Who can help us in this regard? Only those who have perfectly controlled their own minds. What we may learn from such sources we shall present here as a system of simple disciplines. Control of the mind is a very interesting inner game. If you have a sportsman's attitude you will thoroughly enjoy it, even while apparently losing. In the playing, this game takes a great deal of skill, alertness, sense of humour, goodness of heart, sense of strategy, patience and some heroic flair which makes it possible not to get disheartened in the face of a hundred failures. Sri Krsna, was explaining in the Gitd how the supreme state of Yoga was to be attained. After listening to him Arjuna said to the Lord in understandable despair: O Krsna, this yoga which you declare to be characterized by perfect evenness of mind, I do not see how it can endure, because of the restlessness of the mind. The mind, O Krsna, is restless, turbulent, powerful and obstinate. To control the mind is as hard, it seems to me, as to control the wind. Sri Krsna listened to this representative com- plaint of man and gave a reply important for all men of all times. All Indian thinking and practice on mind-control are largely based on this teaching of Sri Krsna, He said: 'Undoubt- edly, O Arjuna, the mind is restless and hard to control. But by practice (abhtjdm) and dispassion (mtrdgyajlt can be controlled.* From this conversation we know three basic facts about mind-control: a. That it has always been an extremely difficult task even for heroic persons of the stature of Arjuna. b. That yet it is possible to control the mind. c. That there are well-defined methods for controlling the mind. In these two words, abhyasa and vairdgya, practice and dispassion, Sri Krsna gave the whole secret of controlling the mind. It is the uniform verdict of all the saints of India down the ages that there is no other way of controlling the mind except through 'practice and dispassion'. This is also called 'abhyasa-yoga' or 'the yoga of practice'. We shall quote here a dialogue between Sri Ramakrishna and a devotee, in which the former emphasizes a fundamental point which everyone needs to remember: Sri Ramakrishna: Don't sit idle simply because your spiritual consciousness has been awakened a little. Go forward. Beyond the forest of sandalwood there are other and more valuable things silver-mines, gold-mines and so on,' Priya; 'Sir, our legs are in chains. We cannot go forward.Sri Ramakrishna: what if the legs are chained? The important thing is the mind. Bondage is of the mind, and freedom is also of the mind. Priya : But the mind is not under my control. Sri Ramakrishna: 'How is that? There is such a thing as abhyasa-yoga, yoga through practice. Keep up the practice and you will find that your mind will follow in whatever direction you lead it. The mind like a white cloth just returned from the laundry. It will be red if you dip it in red dye and blue if you dip it in blue. It will have whatever colour you dip it in.Practice and dispassion are no doubt the entire secret of controlling the mind. But how do we bring them into our life-stream? That is the question. To do thisa. we shall have to develop a strong will to control the mind ; b. we shall have* to understand the nature of the mind ; c. we shall have to learn certain techniques and practise them earnestly and intelligently. 2HOW TO STRENGTHEN THE WILL TO CONTROL THE MINDIt cannot be said that we have no will to control the mind. The very fact that all of us have our own inner struggles indicates that we have the will. But in most cases this will to control the mind is not very strong. Our will to control the mind can never be strong until and unless we have deliberately and irrevocably renounced pleasure as one of the main pursuits of our life. The canker which ""feats away the vitality of our will to control the mind is the pursuit of pleasure. It is like this: if you have a servant who is aware that you depend on him to procure you illicit drugs and if you both enjoy the drug together, you cannot then control that servant. The same is the case with the mind. The mind which we use for seeking pleasure and enjoying pleasure, we can never control until we give up seeking pleasure. Even after giving up the pursuit of pleasure it will not be easy to control it for the mind will always have past incidents to cite to embarrass us. The strength of our will to control the mind' will be in proportion to the strength and intensity of our renunciation of the pursuit of pleasure. Unless the pleasure-motive is overcome, no matter what else we do, we can never perfectly control the mind. The derivative of this truth is that those who are reluctant to renounce the pleasure-motive are not sincere enough in wanting to control their minds, whatever their professions. By renunciation of the pursuit of pleasure is d not meant renunciation of the pursuit of joy or bliss. By pleasure is meant the enjoyment of sense-pleasures or the gratification arising from what Sri Ramakrishna calls the unripe ego, both of which obstruct the attainment of joy or bliss. It is by going beyond pleasure and pain that one attains joy or bliss, which is the very goal of life. There is no question of giving up the desire for joy or bliss, for it is integral to us, our real nature being Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. About the methods of overcoming the pleasure-motive something will be said in the next section. Opposites sometimes look alike. Two types of persons do not have inner struggle; those who have become unquestioning slaves of their lower nature, and those who have completely mastered their lower nature. All others have inner struggles, which are the result of inadequate or unsuccessful attempts at controlling the mind. Inadequate attempts are indications of weak will and of lack of knowledge as to how to control the mind. The most important thing is to strengthen the will to such a degree that even in the face of repeated failures we are not disheartened ; rather, that with every new failure to control the mind we are roused to fresh endeavours with new enthusiasm. Now how do we strengthen this will to control the mind? We have to remove the causes of weakness of will. And we have to inject strength into it by ensuring the presence of suitable causes. Not doubt some of us have struggled with our minds but have faced repeated failures. So we have come to believe that controlling the mind is not for us. Another reason for the weakness of our will is that most of us have perhaps not clearly thought what exactly is at stake in the control of the mind. If we had, the sheer instinct for survival would have driven us to strengthen our will to control the mind. As regards our failures to control the mind, we need not be unduly exercised. It has never been an easy task even for the noblest of men, the nature of the mind being restless. Sri Krsna says in the Gita : The turbulent senses, O Arjuna, do violently snatch away the mind of even a wise man, striving after perfection. For the mind which follows in the wake of the wandering senses, carries away his discrimination, as a wind carries off its course a boat on the waters. The Buddha teaches t If one man conquers in battle a thousand men a thousand times, and if another conquers him- self, he (the latter) is the greater conqueror. From this we can (understand that controlling the mind is the most difficult task in the world. It is indeed a hero's task. Hence occasional or repeated failures to control the mind should not be taken too seriously. Failures should be taken as spurs to more determined, sustained, and intelligent efforts, for we are assured by the great teachers that perfect control of the mind is possible. All thoughts to the contrary must be eschewed like poison. 3WHAT IS AT STAKE IN CONTROLLING THE MINDWe must clearly understand what is at stake in controlling the mind. Insanity is the worst thing that can happen to an individual as a result of non-control of the mind. Collectively, non-control of mind may lead to the downfall of an entire civilization, however prosperous or stable it may appear to be. There are many other lesser misfortunes that directly or indirectly issue from non-control of mind. Non-control of mind effectively obstructs integration of personality. A person of uncontrolled mind will always have a tendency) to abnormal developments or to mental disintegration through internal conflict. Even under the most favourable circumstances he will not realize his potential or fulfil expectations. One who has no control over his mind cannot have peace of mind. One who has no peace of mind, how can he have happiness? A victim of passions, emotions and tensions, he may develop obstinate mental maladies or turn into a criminal. If he is the head of a household, indiscipline, disorder, delinquency, and wretched human relationships leading to family misfortunes are likely to prevail In an Indian maxim it is said: a man may have received the grace of God, of the teacher and of holy men; but if he does not have the grace of his own mind he will go to rack and ruin. Having the grace of one's own mind means having control of it. On the positive side, at its highest, through control of mind one can attain spiritual illumination. Short of that there are many other blessings of life attainable through control of mind, A controlled mind can easily be concentrated. Through concentration of mind one gains knowledge. And knowledge is power. One of the spontaneous results of control of mind is integration of personality. Such a person succeeds, even in adverse circumstances. A controlled state of mind leads to calmness, and calmness leads to peace of mind. Peace of mind leads to happiness. A happy person makes others happy. The quality of his work improves steadily and he often attains enduring prosperity as a matter of course. It is not that such a person has not to face the trials and tribulations of life. But he never lacks the courage and strength to face them. At home, where he is the head, there are greater chances of order, discipline, joy, culture, and excellent human relations. Society looks upon such a person as an exemplar of good life. A person of controlled mind will be free from mental maladies and physical troubles caused by mental tension. In a person who has controlled his mind his higher nature asserts itself, and his hidden powers axe released. Friends wonder how this person could become, before their eyes, so great. A popular Sanskrit maxim says: 'Who conquers the world? He alone who conquers his mind. Progress, prosperity or peace nothing of an enduring nature can be achieved in any field, without control of mind. People without self-control will not retain even the prosperity that they have. Such are the stakes in control of the mind. To develop a strong will to control the mind, we must teach our own minds that, without it, we are nowhere. We must impress upon our- selves the fact that the character of our entire future depends on whether or not we control our minds. After fulfilling mans basic physical needs, other things also may be important; but for the attainment of the highest objective of life spiritual illumination nothing in life is more important than controlling the mind. Once we reklly understand and believe this, our will to control the mind will become strong, as strong as we need to have it. 4HOW TO OVERCOME THE PLEASURE-MOTIVEWe have said : 'Unless the pleasure-motive is overcome, no matter what else we do, we can never perfectly control the mind; This statement may give a rude jolt to many who struggle with their minds. But it is a statement of fact, and the implications of this fact need to be grasped. It is easy to say bluntly that unless the pleasure-motive is renounced one cannot have a strong will to control the mind, But the pleasure-urge, being elemental in us, is so deeply ingrained in our flesh and blood that it can be got rid of, if at all, only with the greatest difficulty. We must not, however, complicate our inner situation by imagining that we are wicked in seeking pleasure. The pleasure- motive is not in itself sinful, though, of course, indulgence in immoral pleasures which create greater bondage and retard our higher self- development, is, Except for a microscopic minority who, in response to a higher call, have renounced worldly pursuits and about whom we are not speaking here except for them, life itself will hardly be possible without some satisfaction of the pleasure-urge. 'What to live for, if not for pleasure?' will be the honest question of the majority of mankind. This urge is a living force in man, and a force by which he lives. , Yet it is true that the pleasure- motive eats away our will to control the mind. What then is the solution of this inner problem? To be sure, ascetic denial is not the answer for the vast majority. Neither is the answer indulgence. The answer is in gradually educating our pleasure-urge, and in understanding the dimensions of our own being and how to harness the pleasure urge for the purpose of self-fulfilment. This will need some elaboration. Incidentally it is as well to make it clear that we are now discussing a general problem that faces beginners who are worldly in their dispositions. For those who are advanced aspirants some of the points we are going to discuss will not hold good. They will know what these points are; for example, the enjoyment of legitimate sense-pleasure is permissible for the ordinary person who has yet to make a start in spiritual life, but not for the person who has taken several steps in it. Don't seek pleasure is hardly a practical precept for any One who has a pronounced craving for pleasure in his nature. The illumined teachers of India, besides being knowers of truth, were masters of human psychology and compassionate preceptors. What they taught on this subject can be put in a few words: seek pleasure, but in a way which will not spoil your physical or mental health, or obstruct your higher development If you must seek physical pleasure, seek them in such a way that your powers may be preserved for enjoying the joys of the mind; seek the joys of the mind in such a way that your powers may be preserved for attaining the bliss of the spirit. Do not seek pleasure in a way that will destroy you. This should make sense to thinking people. Ethical principles, the observance of which is helpful in controlling the mind, are all meant to protect a man from harming himself. Thus they serve his profoundest interest. The wild pleasure-urge has first to be domesticated in the frame of the requirements of self- development before it can be ready for graduation. What do we mean by ' graduation * here? Sri Ramakrishna teaches: There are three kinds of ananda, joy: the joy of worldly enjoyment (vistiyananda), the joy of worship (bhajanananda) and the joy of Brahman (Brahmananda). The joy of worldly enjoyment is the joy of sense-objects which people always enjoy. The joy of worship one enjoys while chanting the name and glories of God. And the joy of Brahman is the joy of God-vision. After experiencing the joy of God-vision the rsis of olden times went beyond all rules and conventions. By graduation we mean passing from one of the above kinds or levels of joy to one above. We must remember that the joy of Brahman is attainable by man not only theoretically but actually. A firm faith in this truth is necessary for graduation in pleasure-seeking. Seek sense-pleasure (visaydnanda), if you must, then, but in a way which does not run counter to gaining the joy of worship (bhajandnanda). This can be done through developing the habit of discrimination and being discriminating in the sense-pleasures you seek. Sri Krsna teaches in the Gita? and experience* corroborates, that all contact-born happiness is productive of misery. To remember this even, while enjoying sense-pleasures will develop the habit of discrimination. Then it will be easier for a person to seek sense-pleasure within the frame of moral disciplines, which is meant to preserve him for enjoying the highest bliss, Along with this he should engage in suitable forms of spiritual discipline which are conducive to the joy of worship (bhajanananda). Gradually, as his mind gets more and more, purified, his interest in sense-enjoyment will be less and less, and his, interest in the joy of worship will increase proportionately. A time will eventually come in the life of the person who sincerely struggles on in this way, when he faces the necessity of setting aside even the joy of worship, and becoming a firm seeker of the Supreme Spirit, It is one thing to seek the benefits of seeking God and quite a different thing to seek God for His own sake, benefit or no benefit. When the seeker has inwardly grown to* the extent of seeking the Supreme Spirit for its own sake and for no other motive, then his desire for pleasure will have been sublimated, and this will be conducive to perfect control of the mind. Sri Ramakrishna teaches: When does the attraction of sense-pleasure die away? When one realizes the consummation of all happiness and all pleasures in Godthe indivisible eternal ocean of bliss. Those who enjoy Him can find no attraction in the cheap worthless pleasures of the world. He who has once tasted the refined crystal of sugar-candy finds no pleasure in tasting dirty treacle. He who has slept in a palace will not find pleasure in lying down in a hovel. The soul that has tasted the sweetness of divine bliss finds no happiness in the vulgar pleasures of the world. Many well-meaning but misdirected aspirants struggle with their desire for pleasure in a wrong way. In their earnestness they do not hesitate even to do harm to themselves, but it is all in vain. Ultimately they are vanquished, notwithstanding their honesty of purpose and sincerity. So it is very important to avoid this pitfall in handling the problem of our inner life the desire for pleasure. Sri Ramakrishna teaches a helpful way, On being asked/ when the enemies of man, such as lust, anger, etc. would be vanquished, the Master replied: So long as these passions are directed towards the world and its objects, the behave like enemies. But when they are directed towards God, they become the best friends of man, for they lead him to God, Lust for the things of the world must be changed into hankering for God ; the anger that a man feels towards his fellow -men should be turned towards God for not revealing Himself, One should deal with all the passions in the same manner. These passions cannot be eradicated but can be educated. What Sri Ramakrishna appears to mean by 'passions cannot be eradicated but can be educated is that the passions cannot be destroyed but can be harnessed and purified. If we direct our passions to lower things we remain on a lower level; by linking them to higher objectives we rise higher. If we link them to the Supreme Spirit, by their driving force we rise to Him and they, on the oilier hand, are educated and purified and cease to be passions in the ordinary sense. After a person has experientially known that he is the Atman and not the body mind complex, passions cease, for passion is simply desire wrongly oriented. In other words desire can be a friend or a foe" according to the direction we give it. When desire is directed towards reality it becomes the instrument of liberation and joy; when it is directed towards the unreal it becomes the instrument of bond- age and misery. Vedanta traces the pleasure-motive in man to his metaphysical root, ananda or bliss, the ultimate fact' of existence from which man is essentially non-different. The Upanisad teaches: That which is known as the self-creator is verily the source of joy; for one becomes happy by coming in contact with that source of joy. Who, indeed, will inhale, and who will exhale, if this Bliss be not there in the supreme space (within the heart). This one, indeed, enlivens (people).Certainly all beings here are, indeed, born from Bliss (ananda) ; having been born they remain alive by Bliss ; and on departing they enter into Bliss. The very root of man's existence being bliss, it is but natural that he should instinctively seek to feel identified with it. But when he is ignorant and is identified with body and mind, he seeks it ignorantly in the body and mind and not where it is in the Spirit. This wrong seeking of bliss in a wrong place gives rise to ^ our pleasure-motive and its resultant bondage. As we have said before, bliss (ananda) is not pleasure, it is beyond pleasure and pain, which can never be separated on the physical and mental plane. It is man's essential nature that urges him to seek bliss. And after much striving and fitful seeking of it on the material and mental planes, in the limited, man ultimately discovers it within his very Self the Atman, which is unlimited, being identical with the Supreme Spirit. He then realizes the truth of this teaching of the Upanisad. In the Infinite alone is bliss there is no bliss in the finite. To come to know this fact man must learn at one stage that bliss is different from pleasure and pain and that to attain it he must control his mind and give his pleasure-motive a higher direction. 5THE NATURE OF THE MIND: HINDU VIEWThe will to control the mind is not enough. We need also to know something about the nature of the mind. This we shall briefly discuss in the light of Hindu psychology, which has long had an adequate system of disciplines for controlling the mind, Hindu psychology is considered to be a science because it has through proper investigation and verification devised methods for the absolute control of the mind, leading to the attainment of perfection or illumination. What we say here is mostly derived from Hindu psychology as it is interpreted by Swami Vivekananda in his Complete Works. Mind is a finer body within this gross body. The physical body is, as it were, only the outer crust of the mind. The mind being the finer part of the body, the one affects the other. It is for this reason that physical illness often affects the mind and mental illness or tension often affects the body. Behind the mind is the Atman, the real Self of man, Body and mind are material ; Atman is pure Spirit Mind is not the Atman but distinct from the Atman. To use an analogy from science, the difference between matter and mind is only in the rate of vibration, Mind at a low rate of vibration is called matter: matter at a high rate of vibration is known as mind. Both matter and mind are governed by the same laws of time, space and causation. Matter is convertible into mind, though we may not have realized that this is so. Take for instance a person who does not eat for two weeks. What happens to him? Not only does his body become emaciated, his mind also becomes blank. If he fasts for a few days more he cannot even think. He does not even remember his name. When he begins to take food, again, strength slowly returns to his body and his memory revives. Therefore it must be that food, which is matter, becomes mind. We read in the Upanisad of Uddalaka teaching his son Svetaketu by experiment how food is converted into mind. The two chapters with other relevant teachings run thus; That, my dear, which is the subtlest part of curds rises, when they are churned, and becomes butter. In the same manner, my dear, that which is the subtlest part of the food that is eaten rises and becomes mind. The subtlest part of water that is drunk rises and becomes prana. Thus, my dear, the mind consists of food, prana consists of water, and speech consists of fire. The son Svetaketu said: 'Please, venerable sir, instruct me further.' So be it, my dear. A person, my dear, consists of sixteen parts. Do not eat (any food) for fifteen days, but drink as much water as you like. Since the prana consists of water, it will not be cut off if you drink water.' Svetaketu did not eat (any food) for fifteen days. Then he came to his father and said: 'What* sir, shall I recite?His father said: 'The Rk, Yajus and Saman verses.He replied: 'They do not occur to me, sir,' (He could not remember the Vedas,) His father said to him: *Just as, my dear, of a great blazing fire a single coal, the size of a .fire- fly, may be left, which would not burn much more than that, even so, my dear, of your sixteen parts only one part is left; and therefore with that one part you do not remember the Vedas. Now go and eat and you will understand me. Svetaketu ate and approached his father. Then whatever his father asked him, he showed that he knew it. Then his father said to him: 'Just as, my dear, of a great lighted fire a single coal of the size of a firefly, if left, may be made to blaze up again by adding grass to it, and will thus burn much more, even so, my dear, of your sixteen parts only one part was left, and that, when strengthened by food, blazed up. With it you now remember the Vedas. Therefore, my dear, the mind consists of food, the praya consists of water, and speech consists of Are.' After that he understood what his father said; yes, he understood it.Those who doubt this teaching are invited to fast for fifteen days living only on water and see what happens to their mind Essentially man is not the mind but the Self or Atman. The Atman is ever free, infinite and eternal It is pure consciousness. In man the free agent is not the mind but the Self. Mind is, as it we are, an instrument in the Self s hands, through which the Self apprehends and responds to the external world. This instrument with which the Self comes in contact with the external world is itself constantly changing and vacillating. When the vacillating instrument is made motionless, it can reflect the Atman. Though the mind is not a free agent, its powers are simply incalculable. If man has smashed the invisible atom and released its power, if man has realized the unseen Atman and become illumined, it is through the powers of the mind that he had done these things ; and so with all his other achievements in the diverse fields which fall between these two poles of attainment. In fact the mind is omnipresent. Each mind is a part of the universal mind. Each mind is connected with every other mind. Therefore each mind, wherever it may be, can be in communication with the whole world. The Upanisad teaches: 'He shining all these shine. Through His radiance all these become manifest in various ways. This profound teaching is to be remembered in order to understand the Hindu view of the mind. The source of all light is Brahman, the Supreme Spirit, pure consciousness. What is known as Atman, the knowing Self of the living being, is identical with Brahman, pure consciousness. It is the radiance of this pure consciousness which manifests all things at all times. The mind, composed of subtle matter, transparent and closest to the Self, is the inner instrument (antahkarana) of this knowing Self. .It is not the source of light. There is no conscious- ness inherent in the mind. The mind receives the radiance of consciousness from the knowing Self, whose inner instrument it is, and illuminates all things including physical light. Though having no light of its own the mind appears to be luminous. Though it seems to cognize, the mind is not the cognizer, but only an instrument of cognition. Shining as it does with the borrowed light of consciousness, the mind is an effective instrument of knowledge. From our own experience we can know in a number of ways that there is a mind distinct from the organs and the body. We can think, feel, will, imagine, remember, rejoice, regret without using any of our ten organs, which proves that there is a distinct inner instrument making all these functions possible. In order to convince those who doubt whether the mind is a distinct inner instrument the Upanisad gives the following argument: They say, *I was absent-minded, I did not see it*; *I was absent-minded, I did not hear it/ It is through the mind that one sees and hears. Desire, resolve, doubt, faith, want of faith, steadiness, unsteadiness, shame, intelligence and fear all these are but the mind. Even if one is touched from behind, one knows it through the mind * therefore (the mind exists). The mind has the power of looking back into itself. With the help of the mind we can analyse the mind, and see what is going on in the mind. According to the Hindu analysis the mind has three constituents, three levels, four functions, and five conditions, which we shall explain very briefly. Why is it that the mind is not always found in a uniform state? The reason is that the mind is compound of three substantive forces called gunas, viz sattva, rajas and tamos. These gunas are also the basic constituents of the entire universe, physical and mental. Sattva is the principle of poise conducive to purity, knowledge and joy. Rajas is the principle of motivity, leading to activity, desire, and restlessness. Tamos is the principle of inertia resulting in inaction, dullness and delusion. Tamos causes the mind to move on a low level ; rajas scatters the mind and makes it restless and sattva gives it a higher direction. It is not easy to define the gunas. Hence Vidyaranya defines them according to their effects : Non-attachment, forgiveness, generosity, etc. are products of sattw* Desire, anger, avarice, etc., are products of rajas. Lethargy, confusion, drowsiness, etc. are products of tamos. When sattva functions in the mind, merit is acquired; when rajas functions, demerit is produced. When tamos functions, neither merit nor demerit is produced, but life is wasted for nothing. The constitution of individual minds is determined by the various combinations and permutations of these gunas. This explains the varieties in human nature and also the vacillating nature of the mind. We often say: T have changed my mind/ This would be impossible if the mind were com- posed of one substantive force only. In that case men could neither fall nor rise. All would then remain as they were born. We are familiar with the words, conscious and subconscious. These indicate different planes on which the r mind operates. On the conscious plane all work is normally accompanied by the feeling of egoism. On the subconscious plane the feeling of egoism is absent. There is a still higher plane on which the mind can work. It can go beyond relative consciousness. Just as the subconscious is beneath consciousness, so there is another plane which is above relative consciousness. This is called the super conscious plane. Here also the feeling of egoism is absent, but there is a vast difference between this and the subconscious plane, When the mind passes beyond the plane of relative consciousness it enters into samddhi or super consciousness. The superconscious plane of the mind is the mind in its pure state. In a sense it is then identical with Atman. This is why Sri Rama krishna says: That which is pure mind is also pure buddhi; that again is pure Atman.* These three planes of conscious, subconscious and superconscious all belong to the same mind. There are not three minds in one man but three levels on which the mind operates. The question of controlling the mind relates only to the conscious plane, where the mind is normally accompanied by the feeling of egoism. We cannot directly control the sub-conscious mind unless we are established in Yoga, The question of controlling the mind on the superconscious plane does not arise. But the superconscious plane can be reached only by those who have controlled their minds on the conscious and subconscious planes. The mind in its functional aspect has four faculties, viz manas, buddhiy ahamkara and citta, Manas is that modification of the internal instrument (antahkarana) which considers the pros and cons of a subject. Buddhi is that modification of the internal instrument which determines. Citta is that modification of the inner instrument which remembers. Ahamkara is that modification of the inner instrument which is characterized by self-consciousness. In every external perception these four functions of the mind are involved. These four functions follow one another so rapidly that they seem instantaneous. The mind manifests itself in the following five conditions: 'scattering, darkening, gathering, one-pointed and concentrated/ As Swami Vivekananda explains; The scattering form is activity. Its tendency is to manifest in the form of pleasure or of pain. The darkening form is dullness which tends to injury.... The commentator says, the third form is natural to deoas and angels, and the first and second to the demons. The gathering form is when it struggles to centre itself. The one-pointed form is when it tries to concentrate, and the concentrated form is what brings us to samadhi. The ordinary conditions of the mind are 'darkened* and "scattered*. In the darkened state a man feels dull and passive. In the scattered state he feels restless. Through practising the disciplines of yoga the same mind can be 'gathered* and made 'one-pointed*. The whole purpose of mind-control is to make the mind one-pointed. When such a mind is applied to any sphere of activity, in that it shines. A businessman with a one-pointed mind will prosper in business ; a musician with a one- pointed mind will become a great musician; a scientist with a one-pointed mind will become a celebrated scientist. Through the practice and development of one-pointedness, the mind reaches the fifth or highest condition, called concentrated*. In this condition super consciousness is attained. 6HOW NOT TO MAKE MIND CONTROL UNNECESSARILY DIFFICULTWe have said something about the nature of the mind as understood in Hinduism. While this knowledge may be helpful, it will not necessarily lead to control of the mind. Much knowledge about human psychology can very well go with marked non-control of the mind. The main thing is to have a strong will to control the mind. If we have that, knowledge of psychology will certainly help, provided we steadily practise the prescribed disciplines. By certain actions, dispositions, and habits of thought we make our task of controlling the mind almost impossible. It will be helpful to know what these are, so that we may avoid them. If we have strong likes and dislikes, attachments and aversions, we shall not be able to control our minds. If we live an immoral life we shall not be able to control our minds. If we have the habit of deliberately harming others we shall not be able to control our minds. If we indulge in intoxicants, live unbalanced and chaotic lives, e.g. eat, drink, talk, work, or sleep too little or too much, we shall not be able to control our minds. If we habitually indulge in vain controversy, are inordinately inquisitive about others' affairs, or are too anxious to find others' faults, we shall not be able to control our minds. If we torture our bodies unnecessarily, spend our energies in futile pursuits, force rigid silence upon ourselves, or become too egocentric, we shall not easily control our minds. If we are over-ambitious irrespective of our capacities, if we are jealous of others prosperity, or if we are self-righteous, we shall not easily control our minds.If we have a feeling of guilt, we shall not be able to control our minds. Therefore we must erase all guilt from within us. To repent for "sins committed and ask God's help for strength of will so that they may not be repeated, that is all that is needed to be free from guilt. To succeed in controlling the mind one must have, in addition to a strong will, faith in one- self. Sri Krsna says in the Gitc^ that one must oneself subdue one's weakness and raise one- self by .oneself. This teaching must be practised by one who intends to control his mind. The mind will have to be controlled by the mind itself. The difficulties which we experience in controlling the mind are created by our own mind. Mind cannot be controlled by artificial means for any length of time. Deliberate, patient, intelligent, systematic hard work according to tested and suitable disciplines is needed. 7A CLEAR GRASP OF THE TAS ON HAND NEEDEDIt must be clearly understood and fully accepted that there is no gimmick by which the mind can be controlled. Those who are in a hurry and looking for clever, devices may well be warned that the mind, a delicate instrument, should be handled very carefully. The entire, work of controlling the mind will have to be done by ourselves. No one else can do it for us. We cannot get it done by someone else for a fee. It is our personal task. We must do it ourselves. And we shall need great patience to do it Swami Vivekananda teaches: The mind has to be gradually and systematically brought under control. The will has to be strengthened by slow, continuous, and persevering drill This is no child's play, no fad to be tried one day and discarded the next. It is a life's work ; and the end to be attained is well worth all that it can cost us to reach it; being nothing less than the realization of our absolute oneness with the Divine. Surely, with this end in view, and with the knowledge that we can certainly succeed, no price can be too great to pay.8A FAVOURABLE INNER CLIMATE NEEDS TO RE CREATEDTo be able to practise the disciplines leading to the control of the mind we need to create a favourable inner climate by consciously accepting certain inevitables of life. Though they are inevitable, often enough we do not accept them as such with the result that unnecessary mental problems are created. But those who want to control their minds must scrupulously avoid loading the mind with unnecessary problems, for there are quite enough of necessary and unavoidable ones. We shall all do well ta practise these teachings of the Buddha in the Anguttara Nikaya : Bhikkhus, these five things must be contemplated by all men and women, householders as well as bhikkhus. 1. Old age will come upon me some day and I cannot avoid it, 2. Disease can come upon me some day and I cannot avoid it. 3. Death will come upon me some day and I cannot avoid it. 4. All things that I hold dear are subject to change and decay and separation* and I can not avoid it. 5. I am the outcome of my own deeds and what- ever be my deeds, good or bad, I shall be heir to them. Bhikkhus, by contemplating old age the pride of youth can be curbed, or at least reduced; by contemplating disease the pride of health can be curbed, or at least reduced ; by contemplating death the pride of life is curbed, or at least reduced ; by contemplating the change and separation of all things dear, the passionate desire for possession is curbed, or at least reduced ; and by contemplating that one is the result of one's own deeds, the evil propensities of thought, word and deed are* curbed, or at least reduced. One who contemplates these five things can curb, or at least reduce, his pride and passion and thus be able to tread the path of Nirvana. The practice of these teachings of the Buddha will indirectly help purification of the mind* 9TWO SETS OF INNER DISCIPLINESTo control the mind we have to develop for ourselves two sets of inner disciplines: a. One set is for permanent basic operation. b. The other set is for providing high-power emergency brakes. The first set will give a general healthy direction to the mind. The second will save us in emergencies. If the first set is not practised, we cannot make use of the second set at all, for the simple reason that the power-supply for the second system comes from the first set of disciplines when these are effectively practised. In the first set several basic disciplines are included : 1. Life must be held in a proper frame of constructive thinking. There should be a routine for daily life and certain basic principles by which a sense of direction is given to whatever we do. There should also be certain moral commitments by which conduct, should be guided. Those who have no moral and other principles, and no regularity of life, will find it almost impossible to control the mind. We have to bring rhythm into our life in order to control the mind. 2. To control the mind we must check its proverbial restlessness. In Raja-Yoga Swami Vive- kananda describes the restlessness of the mind: How hard it is to control the mind! Well has it been compared to the maddened monkey. There was a monkey, restless by his own nature, as all monkeys are. As if that were not enough someone made him drink freely of wine, so that the became still more restless. Then a scorpion stung him. When a man is stung by a scorpion he jumps about for a whole day; so the poor monkey found his condition worse than ever. To complete his misery a demon entered into him. What language can describe the uncontrollable restlessness of that monkey? The human mind is like that monkey, incessantly active by its own nature; then it becomes drunk with the wine of desire, thus increasing its turbulence. After desire takes possession comes the sting of the scorpion of jealousy of the success of others, and last of all the demon of pride enters the mind, making it think itself of all importance. How hard to control such a mind! To check its restlessness we must know the causes. What are these causes? The causes of restlessness are the impurities of the mind.10THE PURER THE MIND THE EASIER TO CONTROLSwami Vivekananda teaches: The purer the mind, the easier it is to control. Purity of the mind must be insisted upon if you would control it Perfect morality is the all in all of complete control over mind. The man who is perfectly moral has nothing more to do; he is free. The control of the mind depends on its purity. We are unable to control our mind because at present it is impure. If we live in a way which makes the mind more impure, and at the same time make assiduous efforts to control the mind, this will be futile. Again, if without doing anything regarding purification of the mind, we just go ahead to control our mind, we are not likely to succeed, except in the rare case when we start with a highly pure mind. What we need is a system of discipline for controlling the mind which will also obliterate its impurities. What are these impurities of the mind? They are the urges, impulses and emotions like envy, hatred, anger, fear, jealousy, lust, greed, conceit, temptation, etc. born of the two lower gunas, rajas and tamas. These impurities cause disturbance in the mind by creating attachment and aversion, and thus rob it of tranquillity. How do we remove these impurities? 11CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION OF THE MINDThe impurities of the mind can be gradually removed by providing the mind with whole-some food, and by bringing about a change in the constitution of the mind so that sattva predominates over the other two gunas. Finally, it is true, sattva has to be transcended ; but first it has to predominate. We mentioned earlier that according to the teachings of the Upanisad the mind consists of food. In elaborating this teaching the Upanisad says: The food that we eat is transformed in three different ways: the grossest part of it becomes excrement, the middle part is transformed into flesh, and the subtlest part goes to form the mind. Further : Just as in the churning of curds, the subtlest part rises up and is transformed into butter, so when food is eaten, the subtlest part rises up and is transformed into mind. As the mind consists of food, naturally the teaching follows: When the food is pure, the mind becomes pure. When the mind becomes pure, memory becomes firm. And when a man is in possession of firm memory, all the bonds which tie him down to the world are loosed.According to the commentary of Sankaracarya the word *food* in the text means anything that is taken in by the senses, that is to say, sounds, sights, smells, etc. And 'the mind becomes pure' means that it becomes free from aversion, attachment or delusion, which create disquiet in the mind, making it difficult to control. So one of the basic methods of controlling the mind is to desist from taking such 'food* as .will cause attachment, aversion and delusion. But how do we know which food will cause attachment, aversion and delusion? Broadly speaking, according to the Gtta, rajasika and tamiisika food cause attachment, aversion and 1 delusion. Sdttvika food helps a person to reduce attachment, aversion and delusion. It is not only what is usually taken through the mouth for nourishment which will have something to do with the state of the mind. Liquor and drugs are also taken through the mouth, and they also affect the mind. We can easily see the difference in effect when we drink a glass of sugar-candy water and a glass of liquor. The effect of drugs on the state of the mind is well known. Also, as we have noted, what we see with our eyes, hear with our ears, and what we touch, have great effect on our minds. A movie, or an oration, can set in motion waves of various sorts in the mind, making it difficult or easy to control. So, in moulding the conditions favourable for controlling the mind, judicious eating and drinking are of some help. Equally important is the intake through the other senses. In the choice of food, persons desiring to control the mind will do well to prefer sattvika to rdjaMka and tamasika foods. So far as food taken through the mouth is concerned, the Gitd is our best guide : The foods which augment vitality, energy, strength, health, cheerfulness and appetite, which are savoury and oleaginous, substantial and agreeable, are liked by the sattvika. The foods that are bitter, sour, saline, excessively hot, pungent, dry and burning are liked by the rajasika and are productive of pain, grief and disease. That which is stale and tasteless, stinking, cooked overnight, refuse and impure is the food liked by the tamasikaP What is liked by sdttvika, rajasika and tdmasika persons is also conducive to developing sdUvika, rdjasika and tdmasika minds respectively. Human nature being constituted by varying combinations of the three substantive forces, sattva, rajas and tamos, the predominance of one of the three gunas over the other two determines the dominant tone of a man's nature, A man with a preponderance of rajas or tamos in his nature cannot behave, in spite of himself, like a man with a preponderance of sattva. This is why Sri Krsna says in- despair, as it were, in the Gita: Even a wise man acts in accordance with his own nature: beings follow nature: what can restraint do?If restraint can do nothing, if human nature is predetermined and incapable of being changed, then there is little sense in discussing how to control the mind. The implication of this statement of the Lord, therefore, seems to be: man must change his nature, physical and mental, in order to be able to control the mind. So long as rajas or tamas predominates in the constitution of our mind, we cannot control it, however much we may try. The reason for this should be understood. According to the teachings of Vedanta: Rajas has its vikespa sakti or projecting powers, which is of the nature of an activity, and from which this primeval flow of activity has emanated. From this also, mental modifications such as attachment and grief are continually produced. Lust, anger, avarice, arrogance, spite, egoism, envy, jealousy etc. these are the dire attributes of rajas, from which the worldly tendency of man is produced. Therefore rajas is a cause of bondage. Avrti or the veiling power is the power of tamas, which makes things appear other than what they are. It is this that causes man's repeated trans- migrations, and starts the action of the projecting power. Absence of right judgement, or contrary judgement, want of definite belief and doubt these certainly never desert one who has any connection with this veiling power, and then the projecting power gives ceaseless trouble. 31 The psychological consequences of the predominance of the projecting power of rajas and the veiling power of tamas make control- ling the mind in which these powers are dominant a difficult task. Yet there is another constituent of the mind which makes the task not a hopeless one. This constituent is saliva, which is found in a mixed or pure state. On this, Vedanta teaches: Pure sattva is (clear) like water, yet in con- junction with rajas and tamas, it makes for transmigration. The reality of Atman becomes reflected in sattva, and like the sun reveals the entire world of matter. The traits of mixed saliva are an utter absence of pride etc., niyama, yama, etc., as well as faith, devotion, yearning for liberation, the divine tendencies, and turning away from the unreal. The traits of pure sattva are cheerfulness, the realization of one's own Self, supreme peace, con- tentment, bliss, and steady devotion to Atman by which the aspirant enjoys bliss everlasting. So we find and it is very important to understand this that built into our own nature are powerful impediments and potent help in controlling the mind. It is therefore a question of devising the right strategy so that the inimical forces may be defeated and the helpful forces given full play. This can be done not by engaging in a blind mad fight, but by skilfully operating the inner forces. The strategic question in regard to the control of mind is this : can we so change the guna-balance in our nature as to bring about the preponderance of sattva? Teachings on this problem are therefore of great help to us. In the Srimad Bhagavatam we find: The gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas, belong to the intellect and not to the Self. Through sattva one should subdue the other two and subdue sattva also by means of sattva itself. Through developed sattva a man attains that form of spirituality which consists in devotion to Me. Through the use of sattvika things (i.e. tend to purity and illumination and so is developed ; this leads to spirituality. That superior form of spirituality which is bought on by an increase of sattva destroys rajas and tamas. And when both of them are destroyed, iniquity which has its rise in them, is also quikly destroyed.In the teaching that through developed sattva the aspirant attains spirituality we get the most important lesson for our purpose, for attainment of spirituality and mind-control are identical in one sense. So, of utmost importance for those who want to control the mind is to know how to develop sattva. What are the sattvika things and activities by means of which sattva can be made to pre- dominate? Sri Krsna specifies them in the next verse: Scriptures, water, people, place, time, work, birth, meditation, mantra and purification these are the ten causes which develop the gunas. The import of this verse is that 'each of these has its sattvika, rajasika and tamasika counter- parts j the first conducing to purity, illumination, and bliss ; the second to temporary pleasure followed by painful reaction; and the .last leading to ignorance and increasing bondage. The teaching continues: Of these, those alone are sattvika, which the sages praise ; the tamasa are what they condemn ; while those are rajasa about which they are indifferent. For the increase of saliva a man should concern himself with sattvika things alone. Thence comes spirituality, and from this again knowledge, leading to the realization of one's independence and the .removal of the superimposition of gross and subtle bodies. The import of the last verse is: Only those scriptures are to be followed which teach nivrtti or the march back to the oneness of Brahman, not those that teach pravrtti or continuing the multiplicity (rajasika) or those that teach downright injurious tenets (tamasika). Similarly holy water only is to be used, not scented water or wine, etc. ; one should mix only with spiritual people, not with wordly-minded or wicked people. A solitary place is to be preferred, not a public thoroughfare or a gaming-house. Early morning or some such time is to be selected for meditation in preference to hours likely to cause distraction or dullness. Obligatory and unselfish works alone should be done, not selfish or harmful ones. Initia- tion into pure and non-injurious forms of religion is needed, not those that require much ado or those that are impure and harmful. Meditation should be on the Lord, not on sense-objects or on enemies with a view to revenge. Mantras such as Om are to be preferred, not those bringing worldly prosperity or causing injury to others. Purification of the mind is what we should be interested in, not merely trimming up the body or cleaning up houses. In the verses quoted above we have, from an authentic source, ill-important teachings on how to bring about desirable transformation in the guna combination in our mind. Control of mind, in its creative arid positive aspect, is this inner transformation. Until this is achieved no true work is really done for gaining control over the mind. When through these and other means the aspirant has succeeded in ensuring the preponderance of sattva in his nature, his battle for mind-control is more than half won, but not fully.The reason is that even sattva binds man. This is how the Gita puts it: Sattva , rajas and tamos these gunas, O mighty- aimed", born of Prakrti, bind fast in the body the indestructible embodied one. Of these sattva, because of its stainlessness, luminous and free from evil, binds, O sinless one, by attachment to happiness and by attachment to knowledge. Sri Ramakrishna in his parable of the man and the three robbers, explains the matter as follows : This world itself is the forest, The three robbers prowling here are sattva , rajas and tamos. It is they that rob a man of the knowledge of Truth. Tamos wants to destroy him. Rajas binds him to the world. But sattva rescues him from the clutches of rajas arid tamas. Under the protection of sattva, man is rescued from anger, passion, and other evil effects of tamos. Further, sattva loosens the bonds of the world But sattva also is a robber. It cannot give him the ultimate knowledge of Truth, though it shows him the road leading to the supreme abode of God. Setting him on the path, sattva tells him: *Look yonder. There is your home Even sattva is far away from the knowledge of Brahman.The psychological implication of the words of the Gita that 'sattva binds by attachment to happiness and attachment to knowledge, and of Sri Ramakrishna, that sattva is also a robber', is that even the preponderance of sattva in our nature does not amount to perfect control of the mind. What is needed for gaining ( perfect control of the mind is to go beyond the gunas. Sri Krsna teaches the technique of going beyond the gunas in the fourteenth chapter of the Gita. In verse twenty-six he gives the entire teaching in its' simplest form, shorn of all technicalities. He says: 'And he who serves Me (the Lord) with unswerving devotion, he, going beyond the gunas, is fitted for becoming Brahman. But only the pure in heart can serve God with unswerving devotion. If we feel that we are not so pure in heart and so cannot practise unswerving devotion, we must not be dis-courage. Through the persistent practice of devotion we can gradually become more unswerving and pure. However, if for any reason we are not able to adopt the simplest method of going beyond the gums, other ways of controlling the mind remain open to us. In addition to learning how to conquer tamas and rajas we need to learn how to conquer sattva also. This is taught by Sri Sarikaracarya thus : Tamas is destroyed by both sattva and rajas rajas by sattva, and sattva dies when purified! Therefore do away with thy superimposition through the help of sattva.12HOLY COMPANY GREATLY HELPS MIND CONTROLWe have discussed in some detail one method of changing the guna-composition of our mind for the purpose of controlling it. This is an authentic method taught in the scriptures. When correctly practised it can help any one. There will, however, be many people who are so constituted that they cannot take inner care of themselves in such detail, or because their conditions of living are not conducive to the practice of this discipline. Is there any other discipline easier to practise but equally effective? Yes, there is a discipline which is easier to practise, and is equally, if not more effective. But there is a difficulty in speaking about this very simple method. An illustration will show what we mean. There are some patients who, having suffered a great deal from an obstinate ailment, do not really trust the doctor when he prescribes a simple remedy. They are inclined to think that a difficult disease needs correspondingly complicated treatment. The same is true of the simple method we are about to describe: for some people it is too simple. The method is that of being in holy company. It is a simple method, but more effective* than all others. Sri Krsna teaches: Yoga, discrimination, piety, study of the Vedas, austerities, renunciation, rites such as agnihotra, works of public utility, charity, vows, sacrifices, secret mantras, places of pilgrimage, and moral rules, particular as well as universal none of these, I say, bind Me so much as association with saints, which roots out all attachment.* Most of our attachments are due to the preponderance of rajas in our Nature. Wh6n we are in the company of a perfected soul, the powerful vibrations of his holiness penetrate within us and bring about a speedy change in the guna-composition of our mind, leading to a preponderance of sattva- for the time being* How enduring this sattva-dominance will be depends on how often we frequent holy company. Sri Ramakrishna teaches: ...The wordly man must constantly live in the company of holy men. It is necessary for all, even for* sannyasins ; but it is specially necessary for the householder. His disease has become chronic be- cause he has to live constantly in the midst of 'woman and gold*.* 1 Holy company makes our task of controlling the mind easier, so we must not fail to seek it. But when holy company is not available, what do we do? We must depend on our own re- sources and go ahead with hard and methodical work. Following those. of the above teachings which are suitable for us, we must bring about the preponderance of sattva in our mind, and finally learn how to transcend sattva by purifying it 13HOW IS SATTVA PURIFIEDAccording to Vedanta, the purification of sattva takes place through constant discrimination between the real and the unreal, through renunciation of the unreal, and through deep contemplation on the true nature of the Self. In this connection what Sankaracarya teaches by implication on mind-control is helpful:The desire of Self-realization is obscured by in- numerable desires for things other than the Self. When they have destroyed by constant attachment to the Self, the Atman clearly manifests Itself of Its own accord. As the mind becomes gradually established in the inmost Self, it proportionately gives up desires for external objects. And when all such desires have been eliminated, there takes place the unobstructed realization of the Atman. The yogi's mind dies, being constantly fixed on his own Self. Thence follows the cessation of de- sires. Therefore do away with your superimposition. This death of the mind does not mean loss of the mind, but perfect purification in which state it is identified with the Atman. When one knows oneself as the Atman, there is no longer a mind needing control. In seeking to control of our mind we must aspire to this absolute state of being. As long as we have more desires than one, or other desires than the desire for the realization of Atman, it will be difficult to control the mind, for it will then be in a scattered state. If we seek any- thing less than the highest, into which every- thing converges, as it were, the mind will be divided. It is hard to control a divided mind. In other words, those who seek anything less than perfect illumination, or realization of the Self, can never control their mind perfectly. They have some desire other than that for illumination and therefore they in effect vote for the perpetuation of avidya. Thus they render themselves incapable of doing things needed for controlling the mind. In Vedanta, mind in its impure state is identified with avidya And so the disciplines that are enjoined for the removal of avidya are also applicable to mind-control. Of these disciplines one particularly is very helpful in controlling' the mind through its power of purification. This discipline, in Vedantic terminology, is swdhyasdpanayam, doing away with the superimposition that has come conquering the upon oneself, or in other words identification with the non-Self. About super imposition on the Self and the method of its 'removal Sankaracarya teaches: The idea of 'me and mine in the body, organs, etc., which are the non-Self this superimposition the wise man must put a stop to, by identifying himself with the Atman. Realizing your inmost Self, the witness of the buddhi (intellect) and its modifications* and constantly revolving the positive thought 1 am That, conquer the identification with the non-Self. All the disquiet, tension, and problems of the mind have only one origin, the false identification of one's real Self with the non-Self, giving rise to the idea of 'me and mine* in the body, the organs, etc.The cure of all these dis- orders is in the effective practice of the positive thought I am That'. 1 am the Atman The Reality-oriented mind alone can be controlled.The practice of sadhana-catustaya, the four- fold Vedantic disciplines, which is enjoined for the attainment of illumination, takes care of the problem of mind-control as a matter of course. These Vedantic disciplines for controlling the mind can be helpfully supplemented by certain yoga disciplines which we shall now discuss. 14BASIC YOGA DISCIPLINES FORMIND-CONTROLThe yoga scriptures insist that in order to control the mind aspirants must practise the disciplines of yama and niyama. Non-killing, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, and non- receiving of gifts are called yamas.* Internal and external purification, contentment, mortification, study, and worship of God are the niyamas. Obviously one who is not yet the master of his mind will fail to observe some of these precepts. Yet the idea of insisting on the practice of these virtues is to keep the ideal always bright before the practitioner, so that inner strength may grow through self-effort. Patanjali, the great teacher of yoga, says: Undisturbed calmness of mind is attained by cultivating ta. Friendliness towards the happy. b. Compassion for the unhappy. c. Delight in the good. d. Indifference to the evil. This aphorism requires explanation. The disposition of being happy at the happiness of others creates a very soothing mental climate in which wrong impulses like jealousy cannot thrive. Contraction of the heart causes us a special type of inner disquiet, and this can be removed only through the expansion of our heart. Practising compassion for the unhappy is one of the methods of doing this. Active compassion will mean service to the afflicted. Service done in the proper attitude is purifying. It expands our hearts, enhances our sense of identity with the whole, and liberates us from the cramping agony of our smallness. This gives us inner joy. Even if we ourselves are miserable, there will be no dearth of more miserable persons around us. Let us do something for somebody else. If we cannot do anything else, we may just be friendly and pray sincerely for the good of the world. That too will help. Our delight should be in the good. When we take delight in the good the psychological law is that we imbibe the goodness and the other qualities of the good. Goodness is conducive to calmness of mind. We are asked to be indifferent to the evil. Undoubtedly to try to change evil people into good is a high and noble task. But that task is for the prophet and the saint, not for the ordinary man who is struggling with his own mind. As long as our own minds are not well under control, we should studiously avoid evil company. In that way we can save our own minds from catching the contagion and getting into greater trouble. If we feel so deeply for the evil and the wicked we can pray for their welfare. This will help both, them and us. But who are these wicked people? Who judges who is wicked? There can be a long controversy on this issue. For all practical purposes, however, those who live immoral and unethical lives can be considered wicked people. While avoidance of evil company is helpful for controlling the mind in a negative way, the company of the holy is helpful in the most positive manner; Holy company removes the mental impurities of even a degraded person. lis is what the saints and scriptures say, Sri Krsna teaches in the Srhnad Bhagavatam that association with the holy roots out all attachment. Our attachments are th emost powerf impediments to the control of the mind. I Where attachments are removed, aversions and delu- sions also leave us easily, as a result of which w^Jittairi^nght discrimination and clarity ol understanding. With these inner transformations unknowingly going on as a result of holy com- pany we find it possible to control the mind.
15PRACTICE OF DISCRIMINATION HELPSThere are situations in which we do things deliberately, knowing full well that it is the right thing to do. And there are situations in which we act impulsively without knowing the right or wrong of them. But in either case every work bears its own fruits, sweet or bitter, Apart from other sufferings one result of wrong action is greater mental turmoil. Our ignorance about" right and wrong will not save us from trouble. Therefore in order to control the mind one essential thing is to learn how to discriminate between right and wrong, good and evil, real and unreal. When discrimination becomes a habit with us we shall automatically ask our- selves: What good is it? This will save us from possible mental turmoil resulting from wrong, rash and foolish actions, provided we have developed the habit of doing only what our discrimination tells us to be good. The practice of discrimination may very well go hand in hand with the practice of self-examination. This conduces to self-improvement. There is another dimension to the practice of discrimination which helps the control of the mind in a fundamental manner. The crux of the problem of mind-control was neatly put by the ancient seekers, Sanaka and others, to Brahma in these few words: O Lord, the mind is attached to the sense-objects and the sense-objects influence the mind: So for the man who seeks liberation and wants to go beyond them, how do they cease to act and react upon each other? The crux of the problem remains the same even today, And given a universe on the same plan, it will ever remain so. The authoritative answer that came from Sri Krsna to this important question has been summarized in the following words : If the mind, which is connected with sense- objects as agent and enjoyer etc, and is variously named as intellect, egoism and so forth, were the reality of the jiva (living being), then there might not be a dissolution of the , connection between the jiva and the sense-objects. But the jiva is eternally identified with Brahman, and his apparent connection with the sense-objects is due to the superimposition of the mind on him, Hence by considering oneself to be Brahman and reflecting on the unreality of the sense-objects, one should turn away from them and worship the Lord so that one can remain in one's true nature as the infinite Self. 16TRAINING THE MIND TO BFHAVEIn one sense to control the mind is to train it to behave. It is like catching a wild horse and turning it into a circus horse to do feats to order. How is it done ? Swami Vivekananda teaches; Before we can control the mind we must study it. We have to seize this unstable mind and drag it from its wanderings and fix it on one idea. Over and over again this must be done. By power of will we must get hold of the mind and make it stop and reflect upon the glory of God. The easiest way to get hold of the mind is to sit quiet and let it drift where it will for a while. Hold fast to the idea,, I am the witness watching my mind drifting. The mind is not I. Then see it think as if it were a thing entirely apart from yourself* Identify yourself with God, never with matter or with the mind. Picture the mind as a calm lake stretched before you and the thoughts that come and go as bubbles rising and breaking on its surface. Make no effort to control the thoughts, but watch them and follow them in imagination as they float away. This will gradually lessen the circles. For the mind ranges over wide circles of thought and those circles widen- out into ever increasing circles, as in a pond when we throw a stone into it We want to reverse the process and starting with a huge circle make it narrower until at last we can fix the mind on one point and make it stay there. Hold to the idea, 1 am not the mind, I see that I am thinking, I am watching my mind act, and each day the identification of yourself with thought and feeling will grow less, until at last you can entirely separate yourself from the mind and actually know it to be apart from yourself. When this is done, the mind is your servant to control as you will. The first stage of being a yogi is to go beyond the senses. When the mind is conquered, he has reached the highest stage.We shall be surprised to see, when we begin this practice, how many hideous thoughts will come to our mind. As the practice continues the turbulence of the mind may increase for some time. But the more detached from our minds we shall find it possible to feel ourselves, the less will be its pranks. Gradually its vagaries will lose all vigour under the penetrating gaze of the observer, and finally the mind will become like a circus horse, vigorous but disciplined. We should for some time deliberately watch our minds every day at regular intervals. And this should continue as long as the mind needs to be taught how to behave. 17PRACTICE OF PRATYAYAMAWe shall notice that when our mind is in a disturbed state our breathing becomes faster and irregular. One- of the ways of quieting the mind is to regularize the breathing. Regular practice of deep breathing helps to develop a stable state of mind It may be mentioned here that the practice of pranayama (restraining the breath in order to get control of the prana or vital force) is very helpful for controlling the mind. Pranayama should, however, be learnt directly from a teacher, and should be practised in a clean atmosphere. Besides, those who do not practise continence, or have a diseased heart, lungs or nervous system, are advised not to practise pranayama.18PRACTICE OF PRATYAHARAUsually our .condition is that we are forced to concentrate our minds on certain things. There are attractions in objects which compel our minds to become fixed on them. In this way we become the slaves of tempting objects. The true position, however, should be that we put our minds on things at will. Things should not be able to force our minds on them. Learning to do this is a most important step in controlling the mind. In fact, until we learn to do this, nothing is practically achieved by way of controlling the mind. Now, how do we do this ? Swami Vivekananda teaches: We hear 'Be good, and 'Be good', and 'Be good', taught all over the world. There is hardly a child, born in any country in the world, who has not been told, 'Do not steal', 'Do not tell a lie', but nobody tells the child how he can help doing them. Talking will not help him. Why should he not become a thief? We do not teach him how not to steal; we simply tell him, 'Do not steal.' Only when we teach him to control his mind do we really help him. AH actions, internal and external, occur when the mind joins itself to certain centres, called the organs. Willingly or un- willingly it is drawn to join itself to centres, and that is why people do foolish deeds and feel miserable, which, if the mind were under control, they would not do. What would, be the result of controlling the mind ? It then would not join itself to the centres of perception, and, naturally, feeling and willing would be under control. It is clear so far. Is it possible ? It is perfectly possible. It can be done by practising the discipline of pratyahara which is taught by Patanjali.What is pratyahara ? Pratyahara is that abstention by which the senses do not done into contact with their objects and follow, as it were, the nature of the (controlled) mind. When the mind is withdrawn from the sense- objects the sense-organs also withdraw themselves from their objects and they are said Jo imitate the mind. This is known as pratyahara The link between the sense-organs and sense- objects is the mind. When the mind is with- drawn from sense-objects, the sense-organs also imitate the mind, that is to say, they also with- draw themselves from their objects. When the mind is restrained, the senses are then automatically restrained. This example illustrates the point: just as the bees fly when the queen flies, and alight when the queen alights, so the senses become restrained when the mind is restrained. This is pratyahara. The entire secret of pratyahara is will power , which every normal person is capableof developing ; but in most people it is in an undeveloped state. When confirmed in pratyahara one attains mastery over ones senses, thoughts and emotions. Practice of pratyahara helps develop will power and will power helps develop pratyahara.
19IMPORTANCE OF HARMONIOUS HUMAN RELATIONS In the Sermon on the Mount Christ says: . . . If thou bring thy gift to the altar and there remember that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift. This is an important teaching of Christ. Our human relations have much to do with our states of mind, on which depends the building up of spiritual life. Those who want to control their minds must not store up ill-feelings or grievances or other wrong impulses in the mind, which is to be used for higher purposes. Through doing one's duties to others, and through the practice of detachment, forgiveness and humility, we must keep our human relations straight. Holy Mother says; 'Forgiveness is tapasya (austerity). A healthy mind is much easier to control than an unhealthy or broken mind. Here is a case history which will indicate how forgive- ness helps in restoring the health of the mind. Years ago, Dr. Jung suggested that psychologists and clergymen should join hands in alleviating human suffering. The American Magazine of October 1947 published an article describing a remarkable clinic of this kind designed to mend broken souls and restore shattered faith: A thirty-four-year-old woman came to this clinic. She looked like a woman of fifty and had for months suffered from insomnia, nervousness and chronic fatigue. She had consulted doctors, but to no avail. Religious at heart, she tried to pray but without success. She finally became so depressed that she wanted to commit suicide, The clinic psychiatrist discovered the real cause of her illness : a deep resentment towards her sister who' had "Sri Sarada Devi* The Holy Mother, Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, 1949, p. 457, married the man she herself wanted to marry. Outwardly she was kind to her sister, but deep in her subconscious mind she cherished a terrible bar ted which ruined her mental and physical health. Then a minister' came to her aid. *You know it* is evil to hate. You must ask God to help you to forgive your sister in your heart ; then God will give you peace. She followed this advice. I Through prayer and faith in a power greater than herself she has been able to forgive her sister. Her depression and insomnia are gone. She is a new person and happier than ever before. 20HEALTHY OCCUPATION OF MIND NEEDEDThe common saying 'an idle brain is the devil's workshop* is very true. Therefore the mind must be given healthy and creative occupation. It should be fed with high thoughts and noble inspiration. Otherwise it will drift to low things and become scattered. In its scattered state the mind cannot be controlled. If we can penetrate to the core of the un- steadiness of our mind, there we shall discover as its cause a wrong thought, or many wrong thoughts, one acting upon another. So, to steady the mind we need to guard our thoughts with maximum steadfastness. There are these Buddhist teachings: As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise man makes straight his trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to guard, difficult to hold back. Let the wise man guard his thoughts, for they are difficult to perceive, very artful and they rush wherever they listen ; thoughts well-guarded bring happiness. If a man's thoughts are not dissipated, if his mind is not perplexed, if it has ceased to think of good and evil then there is no fear for him while he is watchful. Right introspection will reveal that inadvertence is at the root of much of our mental turmoil. And inadvertence comes to us so naturally because we are not trained in cultivating our mind for higher inner" occupations. Sri Sarikaracarya teaches : One should never be careless in one's steadfast- ness to Brahman. Bhagavan Sanatkumiira, who is Brahma's son, has called inadvertence death itself. There is no greater danger for the jiianin than carelessness about his own real nature. From this comes delusion, thence egoism ; this is followed by bondage, and then comes misery. Finding even a wise man hankering after sense- objects, oblivion torments him through the evil propensities of the buddhi, as a woman does her doting paramour. As sedge, even if removed , does not stay away for a moment, but covers the water again, so Maya or Nescience also covers even a wise" man, if he is averse to meditation on the Self. If the mind ever so slightly strays from the Ideal and becomes outgoing, then it goes down and down, just as a play-ball inadvertently dropped on the staircase bounds down from one step to another. Steadfast cultivation of awareness of the highest objective of life, which is the Supreme Spirit, is a potent method of steadying the mind. In fact, when we practise this discipline we shall derive greater benefit from other practices. A healthy preoccupation of the mind need not necessarily be monotonous. If it should be, it might turn into unhealthy drudgery. There can be a chosen, refreshing variety to ensure the healthy preoccupation of the mind, Sri Krsna teaches: Charity, the performance of one's duty, the observance of vows, general and particular, the hearing of the scriptures, meritorious acts, and all other works all these culminate in the control of the mind. The control of the mind is the highest yoga.21IMPORTANCE OF RIGHT USE OF IMAGNATION
Man is endowed with the faculty of imagination. A great deal of our mental troubles and difficulties in controlling the mind arises from our habitual wrong use of this faculty* It is common practice with many of us to indulge in what is called emotional kite-flying, day- dreaming, and wild, meaningless and purpose- less speculation of various sorts. Our expectations may be imaginary, without any basis in fact, but they bring us real disappointments. Our fears may be baseless, but they cause genuine trepidation in our heart. Through exercising our power of imagination we make unreal things real for Ourselves. And we become victims of worries and concerns for which there is no factual basis. When this habit becomes a hardened one, it is extremely difficult to control the mind. Sometimes we may not even be aware of the fact that for a good part of our day we live in a dreamland, in a world of shadows and not in that of truth and facts. Unless we get rid of this habit we shall find it extremely difficult to control the mind. How do we do it? The following story will give us an important clue: A somewhat inebriated gentleman was slowly moving along the street, carrying in his hand a box with perforations on the lid and sides. It appeared he was carrying some live animal in the box. An acquaintance stopped him and asked, 'What have you got in the box?It is a mongoose' replied the tipsy man. 'What on earth for? 'Well you know how it is with me; I am not really drunk now, but soon I shall be. And when I am, I see snakes all around and I get awfully scared. That is what I have the mongoose for, to protect me from the snakes. 'Good heavens, those are all imaginary snakes! This also, is an imaginary mongoose!' The box was in fact empty. Similarly we require one imagination to counteract another. We require a right imagination to throw out wrong ones. Swami Vivekananda teaches: Imagination properly employed is our greatest friend; it goes beyond reason and is the only light that takes us everywhere. The purest of imaginations is the thought of God. The more we cling to the thought of God, the less will be our trouble with the mind. 22IMPORTANCE OF MEDITATIONMeditation on God is the most effective way of controlling the mind, Meditation and control of the mind go hand in hand. The highest objective for which one controls the mind is meditation on God or Atman as the case may be. However, meditation also helps control of the mind. The mind must be riveted on something which is not only pure in itself but can also purify our mind through its power. Meditation on God is advised, because one becomes imbued with the quality of the object on which one meditates.In meditation, whenever the mind strays away one should indefatigably bring it back and place it on the object of meditation. Swami Brahmananda, one of the great direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, says: Unless you meditate, the mind cannot be con- trolled, and unless the mind is controlled, you can- not meditate. But if you think, 'First let me control the mind and then I shall meditate, you will never enter the path of spiritual life. You must do both at the same time steady your mind and meditate. So, when once a disciple asked Swami Brahmananda, 'Maharaj, how can one control the mind? the teacher, in effect, explained how the above instruction was to be put into practice. He said: Through gradual practice the mind has to be concentrated upon God, Keep a sharp eye on the mind so that no undesirable thoughts or distractions may enter in. Whenever they try to crowd in on your mind, turn it toward God and pray earnestly. Through such practice the mind comes under control and becomes purified.
23GUARD AGAINST DESPONDENCYThese are the basic disciplines. They should be regularly practised by those who intend to control their minds. While steadfastly practising these disciplines, the aspirant's motto should be: struggle, struggle and struggle; never give in. We must not allow despondency to eat into our earnestness and energy. Despondency is the worst enemy of spiritual life. So it should be cast out whenever it presents itself. When we are in the worst of mental states and feel as though we shall never rise again to meet the demands of inner struggle, we are advised to stand behind the mind, and see our mental state as something from which we are separate. We should never identify ourself with any of the mental states, good or bad, for, our real Self, the Atman, is not the mind. When in a low state we must drive out all negative thoughts by repeating to ourself with all our might: lam divine, identical with the Supreme Spirit. No misery can ever touch me ; I am ever free, infinite and immortal. Or we can repeat with firm conviction: 'If God be for us who can be against us. Thus the low state of mind will pass away. 24EMERGENCY CONTROL DEVICES
It will be within almost everyone's experience that even while earnestly practising the basic disciplines, we come into headlong clash with powerful inimical forces, thoughts, urges, tendencies, and emotions which tend to tear down all our good work in the mind. To deal with such critical situations we have to develop some high-power emergency controls. Like the fire-fighters of a city our methods must be ready at hand day and night .Patailjali, the teacher of Raja-Yoga, calls this method pratipaksabhavanar.i, or thinking contrary thoughts. In the relevant aphorism he says: 'When thoughts obstructive to control of the mind arise, contrary thoughts should be employed. For instance, you notice that a big wave of anger is just rising in your mind, which will not only upset your peace for long but cause you great harm, What should you do to neutralize the wave? You have to raise a contrary wave, a wave of love. If lust assails you, you have to raise a contrary wave of purity. This can be done by thinking intensely on the pure heart of a saint. But contrary thoughts have to be raised at the very inception of inimical ones. There is a stage when your anger is just a bubble in your mind ; and there is a stage when you are anger itself. Contrary thoughts should be raised when the first bubbles arise ; otherwise the method will not work. Contrary thoughts will be powerless when the harmful ones have had time to develop. From this we can under- stand what a close watch we have to keep on our thoughts and emotions. It is possible that we may not notice the first few bubbles and may become aware of the situation only when the waves have risen pretty high. What shall we do in this situation? We must tear ourselves away from the situation and go to a lonely place for self-confrontation. There we must catch our mind by the throat as it were, and say to it : 'O my mind, this will ruin you altogether. Don't you see that?' If we impress the idea forcefully upon the mind it will behave; for it does not want self- destruction. When a disciple once asked Swami Brahmananda: What should I do if a distracting thought persistently arises hi my mind? He replied : This thought is immensely harmful to me- It will be my ruin/ Impress this idea again and again upon your mind. The mind will be freed from that distracting thought. The mind is susceptible to suggestions. It learns whatever you teach it. If through discrimination you can impress upon it the joy and full- ness of life in the spirit and the folly of worldly attachments, then your mind will devote itself more and more to God.Nothing is more exhausting than wrestling with the mind. The more we are exhausted the more turbulent the mind becomes; and ultimately we are swept away. In such a situation a frontal attack on the mind is not very helpful. What should we do then? We should cease to identify ourselves with the mind. If we do this a tremendous work will have been done. As long as we identify ourselves with the mind we cannot control bur minds. The moment we succeed by philosophic thought in separating
